In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the news, Oh said, “Creatively, I really feel like I gave it my all, and I feel ready to let her go. It’s such an interesting thing to play a character for so long and to actually get the sense that she wants to be let go as well. [Cristina] wants to be let go, and I am ready to let her go. We have to start the process, story-wise, for the Grey’s writers to think of why she’s going to go.”

Series creator Shonda Rhimes, meanwhile, promises Cristina will get “the exit she deserves.”

Oh is one of six Grey’s actors facing expiring contracts in May. Fellow “originals” Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Justin Chambers, James Pickens Jr. and Chandra Wilson will also be deciding their GA fates in the coming weeks and months (Pickens’ may be decided for him in the season premiere, when we learned if Richard survived the finale).

“I spoke to [ABC Studios] and asked really clearly that I know sooner rather than later,” Rhimes told TVLine last month. “Last time they kept me guessing up until almost the last minute, which was really stressful. This time I asked to know much sooner, so that we could plan for it.”